


Friend

by TheBlackEwe



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Betrayal, Canon Rewrite, Crushes, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Genderqueer Character, Other, Post-Canon, Post-Chapter 699 (Naruto), Teen Romance, War, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackEwe/pseuds/TheBlackEwe
Summary: When a girl moves to Konoha with her family, joins a strange team of Genin, deals with weird clients, finds an insane cat, and develops a reluctant crush on one of her teammates, only adventure can follow. Follows canon from 1-698 with some changes (Added female fight scenes and character development, Neji lives, OC is present etc.). Alternate ending.A Sasuke X OC story with a canon rewrite, following on after chapter 699 with a completely new and extended ending, new clans and cultures. Diverges from canon slightly with changes along the way such as Neji not dying and the girls getting to show off more. Other minor tweaks also. Follows on after chapter 699.I spent seven years on finishing this, but ff.net isn't the best place for fanfic these days, so I'm reuploading it here. Same username and title there as here if you want to find it/double-check it's me who's reuploading it. This story is 51 chapters long. It'll take a while to transfer everything.





	1. Alarm Clocks, Onigiri, and Fangirls

Konno Ami woke to the irritating beeping sound of an alarm clock going off. She groaned and rolled over, reaching out for the source of the noise with her hand, but missing and knocking over her lamp instead, which fell over and smacked her on the head, extracting a squawk.

"Oh, don't do this to me, please…" she mumbled sleepily, "It's too early for a concussion…"

The girl groaned and pushed herself up onto her knees to turn off the alarm, grumbling all the while, then staggered into the bathroom to perform her morning grooming rituals, narrowly avoiding tripping over a bucket on her way.

  


Once she was finished grooming, Ami knocked on the door of her younger sister's room.

"Aiko, it's time to get up." she called.

A sleepy moan answered her.

"Aiko."

"Alright, alright." the younger girl moaned, walking out and rubbing her eyes.

The girl looked down at her younger sibling in sisterly pride; long, brunette hair, emerald green eyes, a sweet little baby-face and looking so adorable in her light green pyjamas.

Aiko would be starting her first day at the academy today, and Ami had high hopes for her as a ninja.

"Go on," she said, "Brush your teeth."

"Mmm…" Aiko slurred, stumbling in much like she herself had.

The elder girl smiled. Her sister was even less of a morning person than she was.

  


Half an hour later, Ami looked at herself in the mirror. Staring back at her was a young girl with dark brown, shoulder-length hair, bright, blue eyes and a shy expression on her childish face. She was tanned and wore a black, short-sleeved T-shirt and a blue skirt with a slit up each side that extended to just above her knees with black shorts underneath, along with blue shinobi sandals. She wore a blue knife holster on her right thigh, and a brown, leather bag hung on her left hip, her weapon pouch firmly attached to the back of her shorts.

Not liking the sight of shyness on her face, she tried a smile, a small one at first, then a normal one, then a big grin, before beginning to pull faces at herself. Ami laughed at her own childishness.

"Sis, how's this?" Aiko said from the other side of the door.

The brunette opened the door and let her sister in, studying her appearance, making sure that nothing she was wearing would interfere with her movement or be uncomfortable when training.

A white, short-sleeved T-shirt and dark green, baggy shorts with little blue sandals.

Her clothes were fine, but there was one thing Ami disagreed with.

"Aiko, tie back your hair please."

Aiko made a face. "But I hate ponytails." she whined.

She thought a moment. "How about I put your hair in pigtails then?"

The younger girl grinned at that. "Yeah!"

Ami smiled. "Come here then."

Aiko trotted over and turned her back to her sister, who got a hairbrush off the shelf as well as two hair ties, and brushed the girl's hair through before splitting it in half and putting it up in two high pigtails.

"How's that?" she asked, smiling at Aiko as the two of them looked in the mirror, Ami's hands resting on her shoulders.

"Great!" the younger sister exclaimed in joy, turning around and hugging her sister around the waist, which was as high as she could reach.

Ami smiled. "I'm glad." she said, patting her sister's head.

The two sisters descended the stairs, Aiko challenging her older sister to a race as to who could reach the table first. Ami jogged lightly while Aiko sprinted to her full capacity.

"I WON!" the seven year-old exclaimed happily, and Ami praised her as she proceeded to perform a victory dance, which pretty much just involved waggling her backside quite a lot.

"What would you two like to eat?" a slight, grey-haired old woman with leafy green eyes sitting at the table in a light blue kimono asked.

"Morning, Grandma!" Ami said, "And don't worry, we'll sort it."

"Alright, but I made tea if you'd like some." The old woman smiled. "It's peppermint. I know you both love that one."

"Thanks, Grandma!" Aiko said, running up to hug her grandmother around the neck.

"You're welcome my dear." the old woman said, hugging her granddaughter back.

"Have you eaten, Grandma?" Ami asked.

"I had porridge. There's some left in the pot if you'd like it."

"I'll have the same then. What would you like, Aiko?"

"Porridge too!"

"Gotcha."

Ami took two bowls out of the cupboard and scooped some porridge into both of them with the ladle their grandmother had left in the pot. "Looking forward to your first day at the academy, Aiko?"

"Yeah! I bet it's going to be awesome!" the green-eyed child yelled, punching the air in excitement.

"I'm sure it'll be good." Ami said, smiling at her sister's eagerness.

  


The two ate their breakfast as they discussed what they thought the day would be like, every now and then their grandmother throwing in her two cents worth. The two girls finished their breakfast and Ami made each of their lunches out of onigiri and leftovers while Aiko washed the dishes from their meals. Both girls said goodbye to their grandmother and left for the academy.

  


"You sure you're all set?" Ami asked her younger sister just before they entered the gates.

"Definitely!"

"Let's go then!"

Ami brought her sister to the teacher for her group. She told Aiko to meet her at the entrance when academy was over, then left to find her own class.

  


"Everyone!" The teacher, Umino Iruka had just walked in, wearing his familiar ninja uniform of blue trousers, a green Chuunin vest and blue sandals. His dark eyes twinkled in happiness as he greeted the class. "We have a new student today. This is Konno Ami. Please be nice to her." He glanced around the room as he tucked a stray strand of dark brown hair from his ponytail behind his ear, then smiled, the scar across the bridge of his nose carved deep into his tanned skin twitching slightly at the action. He gestured to the seat between two boys named Naruto and Sasuke. "You can sit there, Ami."

"Okay." she said, trotting up to her designated seat, as Iruka turned around and began to write on the board.

Taking a closer look at the duo, she noticed one of the boys was grinning at her. She returned the expression.

He was tanned with spiky, blond hair, bright, azure eyes and donned in a neon orange jumpsuit. A pair of green goggles sat perched on his head, and three identical, whisker-like marks traced both of his cheeks. His eyes had a tendency to squint, especially when he smiled. He seemed like a michievious and playful character, but there was nothing unkind about him.

She slid behind him to get to the centre of the bench and sat down. "What's your name?" she whispered.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he replied, still grinning, "Konno Ami, right?"

"Yup!" the girl smiled. Looked like she'd made her first friend.

"New kid,"

The newcomer looked round to see the other boy at the bench. He was pale with an attractive, albeit feminine-looking face, dark eyes and raven hair with bangs that hung on either side of his face and spiked up at the back. He was wearing a blue, high-collared T-shirt with a red and white fan symbol on the back, white shorts, white arm sleeves and the standard shinobi sandals. He had an unpleasant, hostile air that hung around him like a black rain cloud and she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.

He continued to speak, his voice still low enough to not be heard by Iruka.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

The brunette nodded, smiling, and extended a hand for him to shake. "Nice to meet you Sasuke." she said, trying to be friendly despite the antagonistic air around the boy.

She recoiled slightly and retracted her hand when he glared at her.

"I have no interest in you. So just leave me alone," he growled. "I have enough troubles as is. That is all I have to say." With that said, he turned away from her to go back to facing dead ahead at the teacher.

Ami stared at the raven a moment before giving Naruto a confused look.

The blond simply shrugged, pulling a face. "He's an ass." he muttered.

'What the hell?' was all she could think. Ami briefly turned back to Sasuke and said in a whisper; "If that's what you want, then fine, whatever. You seem like a rude bastard anyway."

The raven turned around to stare at her, surprised at the offended brunette. No girl had ever talked to him like that before.

Ami pulled a face at him and turned away to talk to Naruto. She ignored him for the rest of the class.

'Maybe she isn't going to be another fangirl.' he thought.

  


At lunch break, Naruto and Ami sat outside by the swing set. It was a sunny, clear-skied day, and Naruto had taken off his orange jacket and tied it around his waist in an effort to cool down.

"Aren't you going to eat?" the boy asked as he slurped his noodles greedily.

The girl shook her head.

"You on a diet or something?" said a deep voice behind her.

Ami turned her head and immediately recognised the black-haired boy from earlier. "I'm not eating because I forgot to bring my lunch with me this morning." she growled.

It was true; She had been fussing so much over Aiko and making sure that she was alright that she had seemingly managed to forget her own lunchbox.

"That was stupid." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Really?" the brunette said sarcastically, glaring at the boy.

"…Doesn't your mother take care of you?" he asked.

"...She passed away." Ami frowned, glaring at Sasuke, and Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, dropping a noodle. Sasuke's eyebrows rose slightly, but the rest of his face remained motionless.

"...And your father?"

"The same. My little sister and I live with our grandmother, _not that it's any of your damn business." ___

____

"...How did they die?" Naruto asked tentatively.

Ami scowled at the Uchiha as she explained.

"My Dad died when I was five. He was a ninja and got killed by an enemy during a mission. My Mom died a few months later giving birth to my sister. Any more questions?"

Sasuke made no reply. He simply turned around and left.

"He is such an ass!" Ami sighed, lying back against the tree. "What's his problem anyway? Stuck up priss."

The whiskered boy beside her just frowned.

There was a moment of silence.

Ami's stomach growled and she crossed her arms over it.

"Sorry." she mumbled in an embarrassed voice. A slight smile twitched at the corner of Naruto's mouth at the sight of the girl's expression.

Her stomach growled again, this time louder.

"Sorry!" the brunette squeaked, covering her face in her hands. This time Naruto laughed and she peeked nervously through her fingers at him.

"I'd offer, but..." the whiskered boy chuckled guiltily, indicating that his own lunch was already pretty much finished. Truthfully, he hadn't noticed Ami wasn't eating until Sasuke had pointed it out.

"Nah, it's fine. Thanks, anyway. It's the thought that counts."

Naruto shrugged apologetically, still sporting a sheepish grin.

Ami was quiet a moment. "Wanna come over to my house after school?" she asked. "I should warn you though, it's pretty crappy. It's really old, but it's still clean."

Naruto looked up in surprise. He'd never been asked over to someone's house before. He studied the girl's face, looking for any sign to show that she was joking. He found none. She seemed just as eager for him to come as he was to go.

He beamed. "Yeah!"

"Cool!" she laughed, just before she felt tap on her shoulder. She turned around to meet a large group of very angry-looking girls.

"You were just talking to Sasuke-kun, weren't you?" one of the girls growled. She had green eyes… bubblegum pink hair? Ami stared at the strange colour a moment, until the rosette's angry voice called her out of her trance. "Answer!" She also noticed that her forehead was just a bit too big. She was wearing a red blouse, green leggings and blue sandals.

"Yeah." the brunette said, "Why?"

A second girl in the group spoke. "Stay away from our Sasuke-kun!" she barked, prodding the new kid in the chest. She had long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, blue eyes and a sleeveless purple belly top with a purple skirt with slits up each side. Wrapping covered her skin under the skirt and her waist.

"Your 'Sasuke-kun'?" Ami questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, our Sasuke-kun." the blonde repeated.

"…He's not a dog, you know."

"Stay away from him!" the rosette snarled, "Just because you're new, it doesn't mean you're all that interesting! Sasuke doesn't give a damn about you!" The other girls agreed with mixtures of; 'Yeah!', 'Stay away!' and even one; 'He's ours bitch!'.

Ami gawked at them, dumbstruck. Were these Sasuke's 'troubles'? She felt extremely offended. Sasuke had actually thought that she might be like these fangirls?

"Whoa, whoa," she said, raising her hands in defence, "I don't even like the guy! So relax, I'm not going to steal him away from you or anything!"

The brunette had hoped that this would cause them to deem her as non-threatening and leave her alone, but it had exactly the opposite effect. The girls' mouths fell open and they stared at her wide-eyed, before erupting in screeches of fury and indignation.

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!"

"WHAAAAT!"

"YOU BITCH!"

Ami groaned. Of course, how dare she blaspheme the almighty Uchiha Sasuke?

"SASUKE IS AWSOME!"

"HE'S SO COOL!"

"HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE HIM!"

Ami jumped to her feet and screamed back, silencing the loud girls. " _UCHIHA SASUKE IS A DICK! _" Every single one of the other children in the yard looked up at the sound of the Konno shouting, including the Uchiha himself. "I HAVEN'T EVEN KNOWN HIM FOR A FULL DAY AND ALREADY I CAN TELL THAT HE'S COLD, GROUCHY, AND MEAN! IF YOU THINK HE'S COOL, _THEN YOU'RE FUCKING STUPID _!"____

_____ _

Everybody stared in awe of the new girl, yelling at the entire Uchiha Sasuke fan club.

Said boy himself was stunned. Never once in his entire life had he met a girl who hated, or even disliked him. Sure, there had been girls who liked other guys, but there had never been one that actually _detested _him.__

____

____

"NOW GET LOST BEFORE I KICK YOUR HEADS IN!" Ami yelled, turning and driving her foot into the tree behind her, Naruto flinching as she splintered the bark and caused a slight cracking noise in the wood.

The fan club dispersed immediately and fled. The girl sat back down on the ground beside Naruto, crossing her legs and arms, as many of the people around them applauded her reproach of the fangirls.

"New kid or not, there's _no way _they're picking on _me. _" she muttered.____

_____ _

_____ _

Sasuke stared at the new girl a moment, then turned away with an unconcerned grunt. '...Weirdo.'

  


The chatter of the classroom filled Ami and Naruto's ears as they entered the class. Ami glanced over to their seats and saw them occupied by two of Sasuke's fangirls, who were blathering to him as he ignored them totally. She motioned for Naruto to follow her and she walked over to the bench, poking one of the fangirls in the back. The girl scowled as she turned around, aggravated about being interrupted from her fruitless flirting, then paled when she saw the Konno. She pulled her friend's sleeve and the two left without a word. Ami and Naruto sat down and the blond snickered when her stomach growled again.

"Shut up." she muttered, a pink tinge just visible on her cheeks.

"Here."

Ami looked around, surprised to see that Sasuke was handing her an apple, and not even looking her way.

"Why are you giving me food?" she asked.

"Your stomach will keep making noise and that idiot over there will be laughing all through class. It'll be distracting." he said, not looking at her.

" _What'd you call me, teme? _" Naruto yelled, but Sasuke simply ignored him.__

____

____

The girl was silent a moment, then took the apple. "Thanks." she said quietly before taking a bite.

"Hn." was the reply.

Ami swallowed and stared at him. "What was that?" she asked.

"Hn."

"…What?"

"Hn."

"What the hell does 'Hn' mean?"

"Hn."

"Stop grunting at me."

"Hn."

"…'Hn' yourself."

"Hn."

"Hn."

"Hn."

" _Hn. _"__

____

____

"Hn."

" _Hn! _"__

____

____

"Hn."

"…creep." Ami muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Sasuke smirk, but as soon as she tried to check, it was gone, and he was back to his usual stoic expression.

Just then Iruka walked in. Ami finished the apple quickly to avoid being caught eating in class, then threw the core at a girl in a row in front of them, who had been one of the many fangirls harassing her earlier. It splattered against the back of her head. Said girl turned around and scowled at her, while the girl simply pointed at Sasuke as if to say; 'He did it.'

Naruto snickered and once again, out of the corner of her eye, Ami could swear she had seen the Uchiha roll his eyes.

"Class, we will be going outside to practice Taijutsu by sparring now." Iruka said. "Please follow me, but first of all, each of you please write your name on a piece of paper and place it in this bag."

Each of the children did as they were told.

  


The names were mixed up in the bag, and once they were outside, and Iruka picked out the first one.

"Naruto." he said. "Come up here."

Ami, pushed the orange-garbed blond towards him, "Go on, Naruto!" she cheered. "Go get 'em!"

The boy ran forward, nervous and excited, and Iruka buried his hand in the sack, pulling out a slip.

"…Kiba!" Iruka called, and said boy trotted forward.

"Go Naruto!" Ami yelled. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked round to see Sasuke beside her. "Yeah?" she questioned.

He motioned for her to follow him and she did. They sat down on the bench. Silence followed. Ami was waiting for Sasuke to speak, but after she had decided that he wasn't going to talk, she decided to speak instead.

"Is there a reason as to why you wanted me to sit here?" she asked.

"Hn."

"Funny that you told me to stay away yet you keep approaching me. It's obviously not fondness, so what is your deal?"

"..."

"…Alright, if you're not going to answer me, then I'm leaving."

Ami stood up and went to leave, but Sasuke grabbed her wrist.

"Please don't." he said quietly.

"Okay, why?"

Sasuke was still a moment, then slowly released her hand and pointed behind them.

Ami looked and saw a group of girls glaring at her as they sat on a bench like a pack of wolves lying in wait.

"Your troubles." She nodded in understanding. 'I guess curiousity explains the lunchtime approach.' A sly grin spread across her face. "Why should I help you though? What's in it for me? What's to stop me from simply handing you over to them?"

Sasuke glared at her, but Ami kept her smirk strong, and looked back calmly.

"…What do you want from me?" he asked tentatively.

She continued with the mischievious smile and replied. "Here's the deal; I hang around with you and keep your fangirls away, and in return, you help me out with fixing up my house a bit. It's a little run down. Fix a few floorboards, replace a few windows, and you're done. It'll take a week at most. And in return, I'll be your insect repellent for as long as you want me to. And I won't be a bitch about it. _Promise. _"__

____

____

"…Fine." Sasuke scowled.

Ami grinned triumphantly.

The loud voice of a certain blond and teacher interrupted them.

" _Fuck you, dog-breath! _"__

____

____

" _Naruto! You lost the match, now go sit down! _"__

____

____

"You did your best." Ami shrugged, as Naruto trotted over to them.

"Why are you with _him? _" he asked curiously.__

____

____

"I'm in a win-win situation with this guy." Ami grinned, jabbing a thumb at the raven beside her, "Not only do I get to scream at those agitating she-wolves that stalk him everywhere, he's going to help me with housework for doing it!"

Naruto snorted. "Does he get his own apron?"

"Ami and Sasuke!" Iruka called. "Come up here you two. It's your turn."

The two each made their way to their individual places on the yard, then turned and bowed to each other.

"Kick his ass, Ami!" Naruto yelled, as the fan club cheered Sasuke's name.

The girl shifted into a fighting stance, Sasuke doing the same.

Iruka blew a whistle and the two ran at each other, the other children all cheering support for one or the other, or those who didn't really want to pick sides simply chanting a steady chorus of; 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!'

Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch for a shuriken, with Ami doing the same. Both weapons were flicked at the other to deflect the opponent's projectile. Sasuke aimed a kick at the girl's legs to try and sweep them out from under her, but Ami jumped and aimed a punch at Sasuke's head, which he blocked with his arm. She jumped back a few steps then reached into her pouch, before rushing at him again, this time with a kunai in her hand. Sasuke fished one out for himself and it met Ami's, blocking her again.

This situation continued for the next few minutes, and Sasuke's lips were slowly curving into a smirk as he watched his opponent steadily getting more and more frustrated. Clearly, she wasn't used to having to spar such a skilled individual. Everything she tried, he blocked. Over and over and over.

Suddenly, Ami took two fingers and jabbed them into the hollow in Sasuke's neck, and he gagged at the unexpected attack to such a vulnerable area.

" _Ami! _" Iruka cried, " _Go easy! _"____

_____ _

_____ _

The brunette turned to look at her sensei as soon as he called her name.

Big mistake.

On the ground in front of her, Sasuke clutched his throat and coughed. He scowled up at the girl and lurched at her, just as she began turning back, punching her in the head.

Ami staggered back, holding her face.

Sasuke smirked in satisfaction.

" _Sasuke! _" Iruka cried.__

____

____

Ami released her face to reveal a bloodied nose, tears welling up in her eyes. She made several hand signs, then reached down to her left hip to flick open the cap of the canteen hanging there with her left hand, the right pulling out a long strand of water and flicking it towards Sasuke's face. The cord sliced through a few strands of black hair as the boy just about managed to dodge.

Angered, Sasuke clasped his hands together and also began making hand signs, before closing his hands together in what Ami knew was a fire seal.

He exhaled a large ball of flame at Ami and she extinguished it with a burst of water, before aiming for Sasuke with another pulse of aqua.

Just then, Iruka stepped in and grabbed Ami by the scruff of her collar, then Sasuke by his, and dragged the two over to the sidelines, 'boo's and complaints flowing from the audience, the liquid Ami had been using dropping to the ground, splattering a few of Sasuke's fans.

" _This is Taijutsu sparring! _The point of this exercise is to _learn! _It is not an opportunity to _beat each other up _by any means you possess! _Sit there, talk to each other, and sort out your differences in a civil fashion! _" he said sternly, before walking off and picking out two more names. " _Ino! Midori! _" he barked, and the pair of girls, one of which Ami recognised as the blonde Sasuke fangirl from earlier, the other a red-haired girl in a white T-shirt and yellow skirt, whom she also recognised from the crowd, hopped up quickly, neither wanting to further anger their already-frustrated sensei.__________

_____ _

_____ _

Ami watched in mild curiosity at the two girls starting to spar, before turning her attention back to the fuming Uchiha beside her, glaring at the ground. She watched him a moment, but he said nothing, and so she sighed and began speaking.

"Sorry I jabbed you in the neck." she said sincerely. "It was crude and unnecessary. I was wrong."

The raven's scowl darkened at the sound of her voice.

"You're a good fighter and I have a short temper," she said, "I got too competitive. Please forgive me."

Sasuke continued to ignore her and Ami began to get irritated.

"Are you just going to ignore me?"

He continued doing exactly that and Ami was getting angrier by the minute. He was giving her the silent treatment and dammit, it was working.

"You were in the wrong too, you know. You didn't have to lower yourself to my foolishness. With your skill level, you could have just pinned me." she said, her voice slightly louder and much less polite. "Look at my face, Sasuke."

His expression softened slightly at that, as did her voice.

"…Look at my face."

Sasuke slowly lifted his eyes to gaze at Ami. Dried blood was caked on her upper lip and a dark bruise was slowly forming under her eye.

The girl shrugged at him. "It's not that big a deal, you're not the first and you definitely won't be the last person to deck me. And as I've already said, I started it."

His brow furrowed and he grunted softly.

Ami gave him a small smile, taking it as an apology. "This was my fault, so I forgive you. You forgive me?"

"Hn."

"That a yes?" Ami asked.

Sasuke nodded, smirking. Ami smirked back.

"…Sasuke," Ami said, "look at my hand."

The raven stared at her in confusion, then looked down at the aforementioned appendage.

A small orb of water was glistening in her palm, floating just a couple of inches above her skin. He gazed at it in wonder, the clear liquid rippling and waving, the bright sunlight glinting off it causing it to glimmer and shine. It looked beautiful.

Suddenly the water shot straight at Sasuke, soaking his face and hair. He blinked in surprise, then yelled angrily; "What the hell was that for!"

Ami laughed. "If I have to have a bloody face then you can at least be wet."

Sasuke scowled at her, but the girl just continued to laugh, and eventually he gave up on trying to intimidate her. The two proceeded to get on relatively well for the rest of the day.

  


Naruto and Ami were waiting outside the academy for Aiko, talking all the while.

"So what's your sister like?" Naruto asked.

"Well..." Ami said, "She's really sweet and pretty energetic."

"Big sis!" Aiko yelled, dashing over on short, little legs to her older sibling.

"Hi, Aiko." Ami said, crouching down to hug her sister. "How was your first day?"

"It was great!"

"That's good."

"How was your day, sis?" Aiko asked.

Ami thought about it.

"I met Naruto here, I met an asshole called Sasuke, screamed at the fan club of said asshole, then fought the asshole, jabbed him in the neck, and he punched me in the face. Then we made up and now he's helping us with the inn's DIY as long as I keep his fangirls at bay. And he might not be a complete asshole. I'm still deciding."

"Sis, your face is bruised!" Aiko cried.

"Yeah, he did that. It was my fault though. I started it. We've already got stuff that helps with bruising. It'll be gone in a couple of days."

Aiko pouted. "Alright..." the young girl said uncertainly.

Ami was quiet for a moment.

"We should probably give Sasuke some ointment too." she said guiltily, "I dug my fingers into his neck pretty hard."

Aiko nodded while Naruto folded his arms and frowned.

"Why should you be nice to that teme?" he moaned.

"Because that 'teme' is a vindictive teme, and I have to treat him with some level of respect if I want to avoid it coming back and biting me in the ass."

Naruto unfolded his arms and stuck his hands in his pockets, frowning in reluctant agreement.

"Ready to go home then, Aiko?"

"Yep!"

"Naruto, you coming?"

"Wha-? Oh! Yeah!" Naruto said, suddenly remembering the agreement that he and Ami had made.

"Great! Let's go!" Ami said happily. "I bet Grandma will love you!"


	2. Inns, Staring and Dumplings

Aiko, Ami and Naruto were laughing as they made their way to the Konno residence, Naruto doing impressions of Sasuke's grunting that were surprisingly accurate, and explaining the day's events to Aiko, who laughed all the time he was doing it.

Ami and Aiko turned up a flight of stone steps and Naruto stared at them a little before following.

"You guys live up here?" he asked. "These stairs are really long!"

"Yeah, they're a pain, alright." Ami frowned.

"Good exercise though, at least." Aiko chirped.

"Too much exercise..." Naruto mumbled, looking up to see just how far they went and seeing about a hundred steps more, but on the bright side there was a flat level every ten or so and hand railing to help along those who were particularly unfit, or those who just hated long stairs.

  


They eventually made it to the top, all three panting slightly, Naruto groaning about the walk, and a the Konno residence sat before them.

"We're here, Naruto." Ami said, pointing to the building that towered over them.

The blond gaped.

It was a huge structure with three stories and balconies on the second and third floors. Both the large canopy over the entrance and the top of the building had a traditionally styled roof. Several more buildings could be seen beside and poking out from behind the edifice in front of them, some bigger, some smaller, some having arches and bridges between them, some with walkways and others up and down flights of stairs. A wide river flowed behind the group of structures and copses of oak, pine, cypress, cedar, sakura and maple trees surrounded the walls, the deciduous ones shedding leaves in a wide array of yellows, browns and oranges in the autumn season, their half-naked branches climbing high up into the clear, blue sky. He could see that parts of the buildings were a little run-down, and there were a few you could even call dilapidated. The garden was definitely on the wild side, some weeds and bushes moving in, most already settled rather comfortably.

Nonetheless, despite all the wear and tear, the sight was still impressive.

It was a ryokan.

"This... isn't a house..." Naruto mumbled.

Ami smiled. "You're right. It's an old inn actually. It was a clan residence before that, so it's been around a while. Grandma used to run it when it was an inn, but she closed down when our parents passed away and she moved to take care of Aiko and I. It's been left idle for about... seven years, I guess. It was shabby even before then, though. Grandma's too old for DIY, and business was bad, so she couldn't pay for repairs. Fewer and fewer customers came and the place got worse and worse... you get he picture. We're planning to try and get it up and running again, but who knows how long it'll take. Money's pretty slow right now. Still though, we'll manage." She turned towards him. "Naruto, welcome to Keijousai House. It's really not much, but it's still home."

The two girls walked to the entrance underneath the canopy, whilst Naruto continued to stand there, stunned, until Ami called and snapped him out of his trance.

"Naruto, come on." she laughed, a little embarrassed and slightly amused at the shocked look on his face. "Don't worry, the inside's crappy too, but it is clean."

The Uzumaki, looked at her, took one last gawk, then trotted to the door. He looked at the small, wooden plaque to the left of the entrance, reading the name of the house written on it. He recognized the characters to mean; 'Strong Fort.'

Glancing around at the building as he and the girls took off their shoes, he furrowed his brow slightly.

The inn's interior was as run down as it's exterior. The floors, walls and ceiling had been cleaned, but spiders were doing their best to move back in, the beginnings of fresh, clean spiderwebs scattered about the ceiling. The floorboards creaked loudly under his feet, and near the side of the hallway, one was even missing.

'It doesn't look so strong anymore.' he thought with a frown. 'This floor isn't going to break, is it?'

"Don't worry, nothing's going to break under your feet." Ami smiled, as if reading his mind. "This part of the inn is in better condition than the rest. And in case you're wondering, we don't have mice or anything, just spiders."

" _Wha-no, I wasn't-! _" Naruto cried, waving his hands frantically, not wanting to embarrass the girl or seem ungrateful. He scratched the back of his head shyly. " _I mean... _thanks for having me over..."____

_____ _

Ami shook her head. "Thanks for coming. I told you this place wasn't the best."

"Grandma!" Aiko called, "We're back!"

An elderly woman with long grey hair down her back and green eyes walked through a door to their left. "Oh, hello." she said happily, nodding towards the girls.

Aiko ran up and squeezed her around the waist.

'That sister's so cuddly.' Naruto thought, then realised that the grandmother was looking at him.

"Oh, who's this?" the old woman questioned, smiling as she turned her eyes on Naruto.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, Grandma." Ami said, gesturing to the boys with a hand.

Naruto grinned. "Hiya, Obaasan!" he waved.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you." the old woman, Konno Hamako, said pleasantly. She looked the boy over, taking in the bright clothes on his body and even brighter smile on his face.

"Hey, Naruto-niichan, what are those whisker marks on your face?" Aiko asked, tugging on he boy's trouser leg.

"Sorry," the boy said, shaking his head, "I don't know either. I've had them as long as I can remember, though."

"Are they a birthmark?" Aiko asked.

"Odd birthmark." the grandmother mumbled.

"But Ami has a weird birthmark too, remember?" Aiko piped up, and Naruto saw Ami's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates. "Remember? She has-"

" _Aiko! _" Ami squealed suddenly, clasping a hand over her sister's mouth. "Shut up, please!"__

____

__

Aiko's eyes turned up and even with Ami's hand on her mouth, you could clearly tell that she had a wide grin on her face.

"Can I see it?" Naruto asked, curious.

" _No! _" Ami shrieked, taking several steps backwards.__

____

____

Aiko laughed and winked at Ami who continued to look flustered.

"Now, now, Aiko." Hamako said, "Don't embarrass your sister." She turned her attention back to Naruto, who was absorbed in watching the two girls, Aiko poking her sister in the arm and teasing her about her red face, Ami pouting in chagrin, oblivious to the old woman's stare. 'That boy... he's about the right age for it to be possible...' she thought, 'The attack was twelve years ago, and those markings...'

Naruto pulled at Ami's arm and she looked at him.

"Can we look around the inn?" he asked, "I wanna explore this place! It's big!"

Ami grinned, clearly thankful at the change of subject. "Sure! Let's go! See ya, Grandma!" she waved back as the three of them darted out of the room, Aiko's short little legs causing her to bring up the rear as the other two ran on ahead.

"Have fun. Be careful, though!" The old woman waved, smiling, but her face fell serious once they could no longer see. 'We've only just met the boy... and he seems nice.' she thought, 'The girls certainly like him... I guess I'll leave it for now. I know nothing for definite as of yet.' Hamako frowned. 'I hope nothing happens.'

  


Naruto had fun at the Konno household. He, Aiko and and Ami had played around for a while, then they gave him a small tour of the house, the building they were in first. It was fairly large with three floors and six big rooms, on each floor, a large garden and natural spring baths outside. Not all of the buildings were accessible as the bridges and walkways to them were beginning to break down and the rotting wood was unsafe to walk on, however, Naruto still got to see a lot of the inn, and made a mental note to never wander off by himself for fear of getting lost or walking along and falling through one of the dangerous routes. She showed him that in a small patch of the garden she, Aiko and Grandma had recently planted medicinal herbs. Naruto learned that Ami's grandmother had used to be a medical ninja, and while they didn't know much, she and Aiko could still perform some first aid and make some basic medicines having been taught by her. Near the back of the Ryokan were part of the mountains around Konoha, and the three young academy students enjoyed climbing up the side of the rocks in a race to the top, which Naruto won. It was two and a half hours before Naruto had finally seen all of the inn and its grounds that were currently reachable, and they were hungry from the meandering walk around corridors, across bridges and up and down stairs. Aiko ate noodles for her dinner, and although Grandma had offered to do it for them, Ami and Naruto had tried to make their own food for fun, which had turned out absolutely brutal as neither of them were any good at cooking. Naruto only ever ate things like instant ramen and Ami usually reheated whatever things that their grandmother had cooked. And so, after this failure, they decided to pay a visit to Naruto's favourite restaurant, Ichiraku, for ramen.

  


"Ojisan!" Naruto called as he and Ami lifted the white and red banner with the name of the shop written on it over their heads to enter the shop.

Ami looked at the two workers behind the counter. There was an old man with dark skin and a pretty young woman with long, brunette hair and dark eyes. They both wore white uniforms, the only difference being that the man had a hat and the girl had a bandana.

"Hello Naruto!" the man greeted. "What'll it be?"

'Naruto must come here often if he's known by first name.' Ami thought.

"Miso ramen, please!" the boy yelled happily, taking a seat at the bar.

"I'll have the same, please." Ami said, sitting beside him.

The kids sat and talked as their food was prepared and after a short while, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed in front of them both, and Naruto instantly released a cry of "Itadakimasu!" and broke his chopsticks apart, before beginning to slurp up his noodles like a vacuum.

As the two of them ate, Ami watched in wonder at how quickly the blond devoured the contents of the bowl in front of him, making a mental note to never offer to treat him to the food as he easily finished four bowls whilst she ate through her one.

"You like ramen a lot, don't you?" Ami asked.

"Mmmph!" Naruto replied, his mouth full of noodles, before swallowing. "It's my favourite!"

"Naruto-kun is our best customer." the girl who worked at the shop said smiling. "I haven't seen you before, though. What's your name?"

"Konno Ami. I just moved up here from a village in the Southern end of the country."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ayame." the girl smiled.

"Nice to meet you too. Judging by how much Naruto likes your ramen, we'll probably be seeing a lot more of each other."

Ayame smiled. "Naruto-kun comes here pretty much every day."

Naruto grinned. "Sometimes, Iruka-sensei treats me!" he laughed.

Ami gazed at the stack of empty bowls beside the blond. 'That poor man.' she thought.

"Ooh!" Naruto yelled suddenly, "We should go find our maid!"

"Oh yeah." Ami said, suddenly remembering her pact with the Uchiha, "Where does Sasuke live?"

"I'll show you!" Naruto yelled. He opened his wallet, which was shaped like a green frog, and paid for his ramen. Ami did the same.

Just as she was closing her purse, she heard Naruto yelling and looked over to see him jumping up and down, waving his arms as he shouted at somebody walking on the other side of the street.

"Hey! Sasuke!"

Ami looked and it was indeed Sasuke, a pair of fangirls orbiting him like squealing satellites as they babbled out nonsense he was clearly not listening to if the dull expression on his face was anything to go by.

Ami was surprised that he hadn't punched one of them by now. She would have.

He was cringing at Naruto's behaviour as he ran up to him, still being loud.

The fan girls scowled at Naruto as if he was something highly unpleasant that had just decided that they were best friends, like a smelly dog that wouldn't leave you alone, or perhaps even more horrible, a fan girl.

She decided to free Sasuke from Naruto and his irritating 'troubles' and called to him herself as she walked across the street towards them. Naruto's voice subsided.

"Sasuke!"

The boy looked at her, slight relief showing on his face at the fact that Naruto had shut up and that the irritants were leaving, glowering back at Ami as they went.

"I feel like some sort of insect repellent." she grinned.

"I wish you did come in a can." Sasuke grumbled.

Ami snickered and began walking towards the inn. "Come on. Let's go to my house."

Sasuke nodded wordlessly and Naruto followed, running up to beside Ami and giggling in her ear; "So what should we have him do?"

Ami's brow furrowed in thought. "I dunno... fix the rotten floors with us?"

Naruto frowned. "That's boring."

"Okay." Ami said, before turning her attention back to the Uchiha walking a few steps behind them staring, well actually, it was more like glaring, at the ground in front of him. "Sasuke."

The boy looked up.

"Naruto wants you to sellotape your eyelids to his."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why would I want that!" Naruto screeched. "Stop being stupid!"

"That's your job, is it?" Sasuke piped up.

Naruto growled. " _Shut up! _"__

____

____

"Hn."

"'HN', YOURSELF, _TEME! _"__

____

____

  


The trio climbed the stairs again, Sasuke, like Naruto, hesitating before continuing to progress, and they soon came to a halt outside the inn.

"This is it." Ami said.

"You live here?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. I know it's a dump."

The boy grunted.

"Come on in."

They pulled open the door and walked in, and they were instantly ambushed by Aiko, who ran up and practically leapt onto Ami, 'yay'ing in delight.

"You're back with Naruto!" she squealed happily. Aiko had turned out to like him just as much as she had. Aiko's eyes fell on the fed-up-looking Sasuke. "Who's this?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Ami said smiling, as Sasuke chose to remain taciturn. "He's gonna help us with a couple of repairs today."

Naruto frowned at the boring request.

The little girl stared at Sasuke with big, green eyes for several seconds. "I'm sorry my sister hurt your neck." she said, letting go of Ami and bowing to the Uchiha.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Uchiha Sasuke, is it?" Grandma walked in and smiled at the raven-haired boy, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sasuke bowed politely in return. "Pleasure."

' _Goodness, Ami. _' Hamako thought, eyeing the crest on the back of the raven's shirt, 'You would just have to decide to pick out the strangest friends, wouldn't you? A boy who may well be a container, and the last of the Uchiha clan.'__

____

____

  


Naruto, Ami and Sasuke knelt on the floor of one of the walkways, ripping up old floorboards and replacing them with new planks. Ami had learned that Naruto was quite accident-prone. Not only had he already put his foot through a rotten section of floor, but he had also managed to hammer his thumb twice within the first ten minutes. She had offered to let him just watch or take on a different job, but he refused to give up, muttering something about not letting Sasuke beat him. So far, they had been working for almost two hours.

Aiko sat beside Ami, handing her nails as needed and curiously watching the Uchiha. 'He's much nicer than Ami described him as being.' she thought, 'I wonder, is he definitely the same person?'

Sasuke glanced at the girl, irritated by her ogling. "What do you _want? _" he grunted.__

____

____

Ami frowned in displeasure. She didn't like the tone he had just used on her sister. Aiko's feelings were easily hurt. She was a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, and Ami was very protective of her younger sibling. Still though, she decided that she would let it slide, as she knew that having someone stare at you was always irritating.

"Are you the asshole Ami was talking about yesterday?" Aiko questioned innocently.

Naruto snorted.

Ami's eyes widened. Aiko never insulted people.

Sasuke frowned. He didn't want to start being called an 'asshole' by Ami's younger sister.

"Don't speak to me like that." he growled.

Aiko flinched and her eyes watered at the tenor in his voice.

Ami's eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "Hey, don't speak to my sister like that."

Sasuke grunted. "She shouldn't be rude, then."

"She's just a kid. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"She just cursed at me."

"I don't care. Don't growl at her."

"What's your problem?"

"What's _your _problem?"__

____

____

The girls' grandmother poked her head around a corner, carrying a plate of dumplings for their lunch, nervously eyeing the bickering children.

"You just growled at a kid."

"Who just called me an 'asshole'."

"Maybe she was _right _." Ami said, glaring at the raven.__

____

____

"Are you serious?" Sasuke stared at the girl, incredulous. "...You're insane. I'm leaving. Helping with a bit of DIY repairs is one thing, but I didn't come here to be insulted."

The raven straightened up and vaulted over the balcony railing down onto the roof of the building below. He walked along it until he got close to the entrance then jumped off and made his way down the steps.

"Oh my..." Grandma mumbled.

Aiko frowned. "Sis... he really didn't deserve that... I can take care of myself okay..."

"But he-"

"Ami." Hamako said, approaching the children, and kneeling beside her eldest grandaghter, "You need to stop being so aggressive. Nobody here is out to get you."

Ami looked into the old woman's green eyes. She knew what her grandmother meant.

"He got upset!" Aiko agreed. "I was going to say that he didn't seem like an asshole, but it came out wrong... and I hurt his feelings. That was my fault sis, not his!"

Ami held her tongue. She knew it was true.

"Honestly, I'd be kind of upset if I got insulted by a kid I barely knew as well." Naruto admitted shyly.

Ami sighed. "...You're all right. I should apologize tomorrow."

"I think that would be best." Hamako nodded.

"Good. ...And sis?"

"Hmm?"

A small, white pot was held up to her. "We never gave him the bruise cream..."

"...Crap."

"What'll we do?" Aiko asked.

"If I give it to him now, he'll probably just throw it at my head. Even if I wait until tomorrow he's still going to be like a scalded cat." She turned to the blond behind her. "Naruto, please tell me by some highly unlikely chance, we don't have academy tomorrow."

The blond grimaced. "Sorry. I'm just glad you're next to teme and not me."

"Grandma, what's a 'teme'?" Aiko asked.

"It's a word that I do not like used in this house and if I ever catch you saying it I'll throw you outside and you can sleep in the garden." was the curt reply, a stern look of disapproval aimed at Naruto, who gave her an apologetic look in response. Hamako accepted and dropped her gaze.

"...Is it a bad word?" Aiko asked.

"Yes, it is." Hamako grunted.

"But Ami says bad words."

"I'm afraid it's too late for your sister's civility to be salvaged."

"...Ami said 'asshole' a lot today." Aiko said.

" _Aiko... _" Ami sighed. " _Stop. Please. _"____

_____ _

_____ _

"Sorry."

Ami walked over to the side of the walkway and looked over towards the stairs that Sasuke had gone down.

There was a moment of silence.

"...I'm screwed, aren't I?" she said.

"Don't worry," Naruto said, "It's not like he'll beat you up or anything."

"No, he'll just bite my face off, chew me up and spit me back out again."

"...Yeah, more or less."


	3. Auras, Stone Faces, and Hitai-Ate

'Okay, breathe.' Ami thought to herself as she stood outside the classroom door, nervous to enter. 'Breathe in and out, in and out; Sasuke can't be that mad... He was more agitated than angry...' She swallowed hard and slid the door open, the buzz of students talking in the morning before class filling her ears. She looked around to see that Naruto hadn't arrived yet and let out a small whine. Sasuke was there, the hostile aura even stronger than usual, and even his fangirls seemed to have enough sense to stay away from him, although they still stared on from afar.

'I am so dead.' she thought. Suddenly, a head of pink hair caught her attention, and she recognized it as that of one of the fangirls from yesterday. It took a moment before she remembered her name. "Sakura!" she cried, running over to the girl, who sat in the seat behind her.

Sakura turned.

"Do you want to swap seats with me?" Ami asked.

Sakura glared at the brunette in front of her.

"C'mon! You'll get to sit next to Sasuke." she pressed as she put on a fake smile, desperately trying to convince the rosette to take her seat.

"You pissed off Sasuke-kun, didn't you?" Sakura said, still glaring.

Ami's mask began to falter.

"Not really... well maybe... it's possible... just a little..." She dropped the smile and grimaced. "Okay, yeah. Please help me!"

Sakura sniffed. "No. You made your bed and you can lie in it. Don't try and pawn your problems off on me, acting like you're being nice."

Ami cringed. 'I guess I deserve that...'

"Go on." Sakura said, before calling over to the stewing Uchiha; "Sasuke-kun! Ami's here."

Ami hadn't even thought that it would be possible, but the boy's already pitch-black aura became even darker in air.

She shivered at the ambiance he was giving off, but swallowed her fear and began walking towards her seat, looking like a man heading towards the gallows to be hung. She sat down in her seat and leaned away from the boy slightly, as though trying to remain unnoticed.

Sasuke said nothing but the intimidating atmosphere around him intensified once again, practically visible now.

"Um, about yesterday-" Ami began nervously, but when she received a sideways glare from the boy she was instantly silenced.

" _I want nothing to do with you, so just piss off and leave me alone. _" He turned away and returned to scowling at the wall in front of him, just as he had been when Ami had first seen him.__

____

Nothing had changed. He had no interest in her, and she felt pretty much the same about him as she had the morning before; slightly uncomfortable to be in the same room.

Ami probably would left the boy to hide in the bathroom or something, but the teacher, Umino Iruka then entered the class, and she slowly leant back into her seat, wishing Naruto was with her.

"Good morning, everyone." the teacher said smiling, as he placed a stack of books on the table in front of him. He picked up a large, black hardback and began calling out names. When he received no answer to Uzumaki Naruto, his eyes scanned the room, searching. His brow furrowed. "Does anyone know where Naruto is?"

There was no real answer to Iruka's question from the other students, just a short murmuring of guesses.

"Ami, do you know?" Iruka asked hopefully.

"Sorry, sensei." Ami said, shaking her head, whilst trying to ignore the even more irritable than usual Sasuke beside her.

A commotion sounded outside. It was far off, but could still be heard by the students and teacher in the classroom. Ami listened carefully and was fairly sure that she could hear a small group of men shouting, although she wasn't sure how many, and a young boy laughing his head off.

Iruka sighed in irritation. "Wait here all of you, and behave." he said, running out the door of the classroom.

Chatter instantly started as soon as the sensei was gone. Ami listened to the conversations going around the classroom.

"It's him again, I bet." one girl with red hair in pigtails said, rolling her eyes.

"Of course it is." a short-haired brunette girl with an earring in one of her lobes said in a 'well, duh' voice.

"When is it ever anyone else?" a third girl said, black hair tied back in a ponytail and light green eyes.

"That guy's always causing trouble." Sakura grumbled to Ino, who nodded. "How are we supposed to learn anything when all sensei ever does is chase after him?"

"Who is it?" Ami asked the two girls, ignoring their glares. They might as well have been blowing kisses after the look Sasuke had given her.

"Naruto, idiot." Sakura spat.

"He often does this?"

"Yeah. He's such a pain." Sakura grumbled.

"Last time, he'd written 'Naruto was ere' on the walls all around the town in orange paint." Ino said tetchily, "It was so _stupid. _"__

____

Ami frowned. She hadn't known about these stunts of Naruto's.

She hopped up from her desk and ran to the window of the classroom, peering out to see if it was her friend who was causing all the yelling. The sight of the young blond who sat to her right during class, jumping from rooftop to rooftop off in the distance, his arm swinging with a bucket of yellow paint, being chased by two angry shinobi and cackling hysterically met her eyes.

'What was he painting?' she wondered, before she noticed several streaks of colour out of the corner of her eye. Her mouth fell open when she turned her head to get a better look. He had painted the stone faces of the Hokages, the past leaders of the village carved into the mountainside with multi-coloured graffiti. Dribbling noses and mouths, eyeshadow, rosy cheeks, he'd given them the works.

"Naruto, get back here!" one of the shinobi in pursuit yelled.

"You've gone too far, this time!" the other shouted.

Naruto laughed at them. "Shut up! None of you can do that, can you?" she heard the boy yell, "But I can! I'm great!"

He went round a corner and Ami tried to move her head to get a better look, but banged it off the window instead.

She cringed. 'Naruto...'

  


Ami looked up from her desk as Iruka dragged the blond prankster in through the door of the classroom. The blond was tied up with rope, yelling and kicking wildly with his legs. The others in the class scowled at the sight of Naruto being hauled towards the front of the classroom and dropped to the floor with a thud.

"Listen, Naruto." Iruka said sternly, "You failed the last final exam and the exam before that. You shouldn't be fooling around like that."

"Iruka-sensei's wasting his time." Sakura muttered irritably from behind her. "I don't see why he even puts up with Naruto."

The girl beside Sakura nodded in agreement.

Ami frowned again.

Naruto just turned his head away and 'hmph'ed in reply. A vein in Iruka's temple throbbed.

"We're going to have a review test for the transformation technique! Those who already passed will have to line up as well." he barked at the class, who complained loudly in response.

  


"Haruno Sakura going!" the pink-haired girl said as she began concentrating her chakra, "Henge!"

There was a poof of smoke and a bang, and where Sakura had been standing, there was now a perfect imitation of Iruka-sensei.

"Okay." The sensei said, and with another poof of smoke and bang, the technique was dispelled, and a grinning Sakura stood in its place.

"I did it!" she exclaimed happily, "Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?"

Needless to say, she was ignored.

"Next, Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka said.

Ami glanced at the boy. He seemed to have cooled down.

"Yes." Sasuke said tonelessly as he walked forward.

Sakura frowned at her dismiss, but moved back to the end of the line.

Like Sakura, Sasuke successfully did the technique, and after Iruka's approval, dispelled it with a pop. He walked to the end of the line, back to his usual level of scowling.

"Next," Iruka continued, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"This sucks." the boy next to Naruto moaned. Ami looked at him. It was Shikamaru, a guy with an angular face and hair tied back in a spiky, brown ponytail. Apparently, he was also the laziest person you could ever meet. She had heard from Naruto that he often slept through class, and "troublesome" was practically his catchphrase.

"This is all your fault." Ino griped.

"Like I care." Naruto retorted grumpily, stepping forward to transform.

Ami stood near the other end of the line, having already done her transformation, which had been fine, and looked across at her friend. She noticed a pale girl with black hair cut in a hime-style wearing a light beige hooded top gazing at Naruto and playing with her fingers. Ami didn't miss the faint dust of pink hue tinting her cheeks.

'Why is she looking at Naruto like that?' Ami wondered. 'Come to think of it... she's not a Sasuke fangirl either... What's her name..?'

She was brought out of her thoughts by a loud; "Henge!" and instantly turned her attention back to Naruto.

Chakra was whirling around him as he began the technique, the blue substance that seemed neither solid, gas, nor liquid gyrating about in a wild maelstrom. The only way she could think to describe it was a something similar to cerulean flame.

'Naruto, that's _far _too much.' she thought, gawking at the amounts he was spewing out and wasting.__

____

A bang sounded as expected, and Ami's jaw practically dropped to the floor in horror.

Rather than Iruka-sensei, Naruto had opted to transform into a cute, curvy girl with long blonde pigtails, completely _nude! ___

____

____

The girl winked at Iruka-sensei and blew him a kiss, and she could practically see blood spurting from the teacher's nostrils.

Naruto released the technique and laughed loudly. "How was _that? _" he asked, "I call it the seduction technique, Oiroke no Jutsu!"__

____

____

"IDIOT!" Iruka bellowed, furious and embarrassed, "DON'T INVENT SUCH A DUMB TECHNIQUE!"

'Naruto...' Ami thought, covering her face with her hands, 'That was so embarrassing...'

  


Iruka gave Naruto after school detention and pretty soon, the rest of the class had finished their transformations. Ami had been embarrassed at Naruto's behavior at first, but pretty soon the blond had her laughing at the memories of Iruka's shocked, crimson face. After academy, she said her goodbyes to Naruto and headed to Aiko's class to pick her up.

  


"Sis!" Aiko ran towards her sister and slammed into her stomach, winding her, and squeezed her around her waist.

"Heya, Aiko." Ami said happily, although gasping slightly, hugging her sister around her shoulders, "How was your day?"

"Okay." Aiko said smiling, before her brow furrowed, looking as though she were in deep thought, "Are you and that guy... what's his name again..."

"Naruto?" Ami offered.

"No, the other one." Aiko said shaking her head. "The grumpy one with the angry face."

"Ah." Ami said in understanding, a slight look of antipathy on her face, "Sasuke."

"Yeah! Are you and Sasuke-niichan friends again?"

The glare she had seen earlier on the boy's face flashed through Ami's mind and she laughed nervously. "Well, we never really were friends, you know-"

"You haven't made up with him, _have you? _" Aiko said frowning.__

____

____

Ami sighed in defeat. She crouched down to her sister's level and placed a hand on her shoulder. Aiko studied her sister's face carefully, watching for any signs of lying as she spoke.

"Aiko," she said, "I'm not going to tell you exactly what he said, but Sasuke was pretty clear about how much he hates me now and I highly doubt that he'll be forgiving me anytime soon, so really I'm just going to try and survive the rest of the time I spend here at the academy."

Aiko frowned. 'I'm not happy with that.' she said.

Ami sighed. "Well, I'm not about to climb back into the tiger's mouth, thanks."

"There he is!" the younger girl cried, pointing over her sister's shoulder, completely ignoring her. She reached into Ami's pocket and pulled out the small tub, then ducked underneath her sister's arms as she tried to stop her from running over to the glowering, raven-haired boy.

"Sasuke-niichan!" she cried.

"Aiko!" Ami yelled, chasing her sister, panicked.

Sasuke lowered his eyes and looked at the small, pigtail-donned head bobbing around his waist and squealing, tiny hands holding up a little pot as high as they could.

"Aiko!" Ami said frantically, dashing at the pair, then instantly halting when Sasuke turned his attention to her.

The boy looked at the older sister in distaste.

The brunette winced, "Sorry!" she said, trying to pull Aiko away from the boy by her shoulders, but the little girl did something that Ami was sure, in Sasuke's mind, may well have deserved the death penalty.

She grabbed onto his baggy, white shorts and clung to his legs, shrieking in protest.

Ami's face drained of colour, "I am _so _sorry!" she cried, as Sasuke stared down at the girl, his face a mixture of shock and aggravation, "Aiko! Let go of him!"__

____

____

Aiko refused and buried her face into the boy's thigh.

Sasuke growled.

"Aiko, you're making Sasuke mad! Let go!"

" _Control your sister, will you? _" the boy scowled in annoyance.__

____

____

" _I'm trying! Believe me! _"__

____

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" _Stop pulling me and let me say what I want to! _" Aiko yelled, pulling her face out slightly from the white fabric, "Or I'll pull down his pants and then we'll see how mad he can get!"__

____

____

The colour drained from Ami's face and she instantly released her sister.

"Sasuke-niichan!" the little girl yelled from around the boy's waist.

" _What? _"__

____

____

Aiko pouted slightly at the tone of his voice, then brushed it off, accepting that this was how Sasuke acted with most everyone.

"Do you hate my sister?"

Sasuke gave her a blank stare. " _Yes. _"__

____

____

Aiko frowned. "Will you ever forgive her?"

" _...No. _Now let go of me." Sasuke growled.__

____

____

Aiko didn't move. "Is there any way we can make up for it?"

" _...No. _Get lost."__

____

____

Aiko refused. "Can we give you something? It's for you."

"Whatever it is, I don't want it."

"How can you know you don't want it when you don't even know what it is?" the young girl asked curiously, tilting her head to the side in confusion, pigtails bouncing with the action.

"Because I don't." the boy said, pulling on his shorts, "Let go."

"...That's silly. Stop being so stubborn." she said irritably, then stuck her hand into the pocket of the boy's shorts, "You're as bad as my sister." She stepped back and looked up at him. "Ami says that she doesn't care if you forgive her or not, but I don't think that's true. Also, if a person makes something for you, you should take it, whether you want it or not."

Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out the balm. "What the hell is this?"

"It's ointment." Aiko said, "Sis said she hurt your neck and since you're a proud, grudge-bearing bastard, you'd more than likely still be angry about it on your deathbed, and she really doesn't need someone cursing her for the rest of her life."

Sasuke scowled at the older sister. "'Proud, grudge-bearing bastard'?" he quoted acidly.

Ami chuckled nervously. "Is that what I said?"

"You said a few other things as well-."

" _Don't quote them! _" Ami whispered frantically.__

____

____

Sasuke grunted irritably at the two and walked away, but shoved the tub in his shorts, if only to keep Aiko from pursuing him.

"Bye-bye, Sasuke-niichan!" Aiko called, waving at his back.

He ignored her.

Ami gawked at the back of the raven's head, then at her beaming sister, somehow feeling both horrified and pleased with her sibling's actions. "Aiko, you're unbelievable, you know that?"

Aiko just kept on smiling proudly.

  


The other students had left after academy, but those in the oldest class had stayed behind for the graduation exam. Aiko had been brought home by Ami and left with Grandma, and now the older sister sat at her desk, trying to comfort Naruto, who was, at the moment, a shaking mess in neon.

"What am I going to do...?" he whimpered, "The Bunshin no Jutsu is my _worst _technique!"__

____

____

"You can only do your best, Naruto." she replied patting his shoulder.

"But my best is _crap! _"__

____

____

Ami couldn't think of anything helpful to say. If Naruto really was as bad at replication as he was making himself out to be, then there was no way that he would be able to pass. No matter what she considered, the only way she could see this turning out was with Naruto failing miserably.

'Please just let him be self-critical.' she prayed mentally, ' _Extremely _self-critical.'__

____

____

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face her teacher.

"Ami, could I speak to you a moment?" Iruka asked. She noticed his eyebrows furrow slightly when he glanced towards the shaking Naruto.

The brunette blinked at the teacher, utterly perplexed, but stood up and followed nonetheless, leaving the trembling blond behind her.

Iruka led her out through the sliding door and into the hallway. He turned to face her, smiling kindly.

"Now, Ami," he began, speaking gently, as though he were afraid to hurt her feelings, "you only came here yesterday, so if you don't want to take the graduation exam, it's alright, although based off your performance yesterday whilst training, as long as you learn to control your temper a bit more, I'm sure you'll be a fine kunoichi. And even if you don't pass, you can always try again next time, so there's no worry."

Ami blinked, then smiled in understanding. "Thank you sensei," she said cheerfully, "But my parents used to train me before, and there was an academy in the village I used to live in. Its resources weren't as good as here, but we still learned a lot, so I'm sure I'll be fine."

Iruka studied her expression carefully, then smiled, "Alright then, I trust your judgement. Good luck."

"Thanks, sensei." Ami grinned, and the two returned to the classroom.

Ami sat down and smiling a little to herself, when she suddenly recalled something Iruka had said; ''Temper'?' she thought, 'What 'temper'?'

As he passed the two of them on his was back to the examination room, Iruka gave Naruto a comforting pat on the shoulder and whispered 'good luck' to the boy. Unfortunately, he seemed beyong help. Naruto's soul seemed to be trying to escape his body.

  


Ami stared at the floorboards, studying the dark knots in the wood. She slowly turned her eyes towards the blond beside her, watching the nervous Naruto out of the corner of her eye. He was shaking and looked as though he might puke; face pale and eyes wide with terror, tears of worry coming up in them, just about contained from spilling over.

To pass the graduation exam of the academy, you had to perform the Bunsin no Jutsu, creating three perfect replications of yourself.

Ami wasn't worried about herself. She had no problem with replication techniques, but Naruto had explained to her that it what he was worst at, and that he couldn't even manage to create a decent-looking one, never mind three. She placed a hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort the boy.

Naruto simply gave her a look that said; 'Please kill me'.

A silver-haired teacher wearing a bandana walked out with a clipboard and a red-haired girl, Kame Sachiko walked out, a blue headband tied around her waist.

"Konno Ami." he called.

Ami stood and followed the teacher into the room, giving Naruto one last look of sympathy before she walked through the door.

  


Brunette bangs parted and the girl tied her headband around her brow, the blue fabric wrapping the hair against her head. The Konoha leaf symbol carved into the metal plate glinted in the sunlight streaming in through a high window.

"Congratulations on passing." Iruka said, ticking a small box beside her name on the clipboard in his hands.

"Become a good Konoha ninja." The other teacher said, the silver-haired man with the bandana said.

Ami smiled and nodded. "I'll do my best." she said. She glanced at the unfamiliar sensei and frowned. 'He irks me... I just don't like the guy.'

"Ah... Ami?" Iruka said.

She looked at him.

"We're done."

Ami looked at him, nonplussed, then realised just how long she had been standing there.

"Oh! Sorry. Bye, senseis!" She pulled the door open and exited the room, taking her seat back beside Naruto, who still had yet to go.

The boy looked at her headband and wailed.

She cringed and went to take it off, but Naruto grabbed onto her wrist.

"Don't bother..." he said sadly, "Congrats on passing..."

Ami frowned and lowered her hand. 'Naruto...'

  


Ami waited in the seat for Naruto to finish his test, twisting strands of hair around her fingers and fiddling with her forehead protector in nervousness. She jumped up when the door opened and Naruto walked out.

"How did you-?" she began, but stopped as soon as she saw his expression.

He looked like he wanted to cry.

"Naruto-"

He pushed past her and dashed down the hallway, hurtled around a corner and out of sight, the leg of his orange trousers the last thing she saw.

He had failed the exam.


End file.
